Soul Kitchen (2009)

In Hamburg, German-Greek chef Zinos unknowingly disturbs the peace in his locals-only restaurant by hiring a more talented chef.

Director:

Fatih Akin

Writers:

Fatih Akin (screenplay), Adam Bousdoukos (screenplay)

Stars:

Adam Bousdoukos, Moritz Bleibtreu, Pheline Roggan

4 wins & 9 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Adam Bousdoukos	...	Zinos Kazantsakis
Moritz Bleibtreu	...	Illias Kazantsakis
Pheline Roggan	...	Nadine Krüger
Anna Bederke	...	Lucia Faust
Birol Ünel	...	Shayn Weiss
Dorka Gryllus	...	Anna Mondstein
Wotan Wilke Möhring	...	Thomas Neumann
Lucas Gregorowicz	...	Lutz
Demir Gökgöl	...	Sokrates
Cem Akin	...	Milli
Marc Hosemann	...	Ziege
Catrin Striebeck	...	Frau Schuster vom Finanzamt
Ugur Yücel	...	Knochenbrecher
Udo Kier	...	Herr Jung
Monica Bleibtreu	...	Nadines Großmutter

Storyline

In Hamburg, Zinos has a restaurant serving poor-man's fare; he gets by, but his girlfriend has taken a job in Shanghai, he's hurt his back and can't cook, his feckless brother can be on daily parole from jail only if Zinos employs him (though his brother doesn't want to work), a school acquaintance wants to buy the restaurant property, and the tax authority and health inspector are on his case. Zinos hires a temperamental chef and loses all his customers, signs a power of attorney giving his brother full authority at the restaurant, and buys a ticket to Shanghai. Is this a recipe for disaster?

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Plot Keywords:

restaurant | chef | cook | 2000s | burglar | 

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Taglines:

Life is what happens while you're busy making other plans

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Did You Know?

Trivia

There is a restaurant named "Soul Kitchen" in Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia.

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Quotes

Lucia Faust: Goethe said: "Colors are light's monument and misery." That is because Van Gogh get crazy and cut himself ear. Do you understand?
Illias Kazantsakis: Of course, sure. I know.
Lucia Faust: Good then.

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Connections

Featured in At the Movies: Summer Special 2010/11 (2010)

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Soundtracks

La Paloma
Music by Sebastián Yradier (as Sebastián de Yradier)
Performed by Gabriella Ferri

User Reviews

Charming - but you need to be tuned

The reason I picked this up was that I had read/heard somewhere that this had inspired the movie 'Ustad Hotel' in 'malayalam' which I had enjoyed.

Having seen excellent movies like The Trap/Troubled Water/L' Infante recently, I was not extremely impressed by this one but at the same time the movie is young and lovable.

There are some original humor sequences.You may like the movie a whole lot or the movie may not touch you at all - depending on your frame of mind while you watch this.

I liked the main protagonist of the movie. The back ache that he carries through out movie somehow aches your back as well while you watch the movie!. He goes easy on various people - letting his employees practice music in his dying restaurant , letting his tenant stay off rent , letting his brother run the business etc.That is how the main protagonist has been built.

The movie is filled with short easy sequences - a nice watch.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [Japan]

Country:

Germany France Italy

Language:

German Greek Spanish Turkish English

Release Date:

25 December 2009 (Germany)

Also Known As:

Soul Kitchen

Filming Locations:

Am Hasenberge, Hamburg, Germany

Box Office

Budget:

EUR4,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$20,916, 22 August 2010

Gross USA:

$276,901

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$18,164,139

Company Credits

Production Co:

Centre National du Cinéma et de l'Image Animée, Corazón International, Dorje Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color (Fujicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1